Sydney remains the hub of Australian economic activity, with its two major infrastructures i.e. the Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport and Port Botany being responsible for around 20% of Australian imports and Exports.

This is a brief overview of the metamorphosis of the City of Sydney from a small backwater penal colony to a modern metropolis whose GDP is bigger than that of most countries

Pre-European

About 30,000 years ago, the area on which the city of Sydney sits was inhabited by indigenous Australians, popularly known as the Aborigines. From Sidney Cove to Port Jackson to Petersham, carbon dating samples show that the city was occupied by three groups of aborigines including the Cadigal, Dharawal and Guringai.

2. 18 January 1788 - Under the instruction of the British government, Arthur Phillip founded a penal colony in the area, arriving at Botany Bay with a fleet of 11 ships

3. 7 February 1788 - Arthur Philip names the colony he has just established after the British Home Secretary, Thomas Townshend, Lord Sydney, in honoring his role in helping get the charter to establish the penal colony.

4. April 1789 - An epidemic nearly wipes out the Aborigines who called Sydney home.

5. 1820 - Only a few hundred Aborigines remain as a result of constant conflict with the British authorities. Governor Lachlan Macquarie begins an initiative to 'civilize, Christianize and educate' the Aborigines by taking Aborigines' kids from their clans and putting them in British Households.

6. 1830 -1840 - Sydney sees a rapid urban development

7. 20th July 1842 - The first Municipal in Australia, the Sydney Municipality is formed and John Hosking becomes its first mayor.

8. Up to 1932 - Sydney continues to grow with tramways, railways, roads etc. being built. Although the city is hit hard by the great depression, the Sydney Harbor Bridge gets finished the same year.

Modern Sydney

1. 1970s and 1980s - A number of multinationals set camp at Sydney and for the first time, it surpasses Melbourne as the nation's first financial capital.

2. June 20101 - The city is home to 4.2 million people, making it the largest city in the country by population and GDP.

3. Today - Sydney remains the hub of Australian economic activity, with its two major infrastructures i.e. the Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport and Port Botany being responsible for around 20% of Australian imports and Exports.

If you are yet to visit Sydney, make a point of visiting the city. It is worth all the hype that it is associated with in the media.